Methods and systems for contactless transmission of transactional information

ABSTRACT

Embodiments described herein disclose a mobile device system for displaying contactless payment options to a user of a mobile device. A location of the device may be detected. The location may be transmitted to a payment services provider, and information indicating that the location corresponds to a merchant having contactless payment options may be received. In response, graphical depictions of payment options associated with a plurality of payment sources are displayed on a touch-sensitive display of the mobile device. A selection of one of the graphical depictions is received, and in response, one or more transceivers of the mobile device, such as one or more NFC transceivers, may be activated. The activation may cause the transceivers to transmit a personal account number to a point-of-sale terminal. Thus, the user is presented with contactless payment options based on a geographical location, and may be presented with a suggested payment source.

BACKGROUND Field

The present disclosure generally relates to point-of-sale interactionsconducted between a payment terminal and a mobile device and moreparticularly to a system and method that provides graphical userinterface access to contactless payment methods.

Related Art

More and more consumers are conducting transactions, such as searchingfor and purchasing, items and services over electronic networks such as,for example, the Internet. Consumers routinely purchase products andservices from merchants and individuals alike. The transactions may takeplace directly between a conventional or on-line merchant or retailerand the consumer, and payment is typically made by entering credit cardor other financial information. Transactions may also take place withthe aid of an on-line or mobile payment services provider such as, forexample, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment servicesproviders can make transactions easier and safer for the partiesinvolved. Purchasing with the assistance of a payment services providerfrom the convenience of virtually anywhere using a mobile device is onemain reason why on-line and mobile purchases are growing very quickly.

Additionally, many consumers may use applications provided by paymentservices providers to make purchases at traditional, brick-and-mortarestablishments. Such applications may provide contactless paymentmethods, such as near field communication (NFC) or magnetic stripeemulation payment methods. Using these applications may permit theconsumer to eliminate the need to carry currency or credit cards, andmay provide the user with the ability to pay for in-store transactionsusing only their mobile device. Accessing these payment methods throughsuch applications may be cumbersome and not intuitive.

Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method for userinterface features for presenting contactless payment methods to a userof a mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method forpresenting payment options on a graphical user interface of a mobiledevice having a touch-sensitive display device;

FIG. 2a is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a touch-sensitivedisplay device on a payer device displaying a home screen of a mobiledevice operating system;

FIG. 2b is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a touch-sensitivedisplay device on a payer device displaying a home screen of a mobiledevice operating system with a pop-up window requesting an input from auser of the mobile device;

FIG. 2c is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a touch-sensitivedisplay device on a payer device displaying a home screen of a mobiledevice operating system with a pop-up window requesting an input from auser of the mobile device to confirm a detected location;

FIG. 2d is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a touch-sensitivedisplay device on a payer device displaying a home screen of a mobiledevice operating system with a plurality of graphical depictions ofpayment sources;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a networkedsystem;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a payerdevice;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a further embodiment of apayer device;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a computersystem; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a systemprovider device.

Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are bestunderstood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Itshould be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identifylike elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereinshowings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides, according to one embodiment, a systemand method for providing, by an application or operating systemexecuting on a mobile device system, graphical depictions of contactlesspayment options in a convenient manner to a user at a time when the useris likely to require such contactless payment options. The applicationor operating system may be executed by a mobile device system havinglocation detection sensors, such as GPS location sensors, one or morenear field communications or other transceivers, and a touch-sensitivedisplay device. A location of the mobile device may be detected usingthe location sensors. The detected location may be transmitted to apayment services provider. Information from the payment servicesprovider indicating that the detected location of the mobile devicecorresponds to a merchant having contactless payment options availableto consumers is received. On the touch-sensitive display, one or moregraphical depictions of payment options associated with the storedplurality of payment sources are displayed. A selection of one of thedisplayed graphical depictions of payment options may be received usingthe touch-sensitive display. In response, the hardware processors of themobile device system may activate the one or more near fieldcommunications transceivers or provide other contactless paymentfacilities, which may cause the transceivers to transmit a personalaccount number associated with the selected graphical depiction. Assuch, a user may be presented with contactless payment sources in aneasily accessed widget or icon interface based on his or her location,and may select a contactless payment source to transmit a personalaccount number to a merchant point-of-sale system to complete atransaction.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a method 100 for presentingpayment options on a graphical user interface of a mobile device havinga touch-sensitive display device is described. In the embodiments andexamples discussed below, system functionality may be realized by anapplication provided by a payment services provider that may provide auser wallet functionality that allows the user to save one or morepayment sources, payment instruments or other methods of payment, makepayments to online and/or offline (e.g., brick-and-mortar) merchantsusing those payment instrument(s), transfer money to other users usingthose payment instrument(s), and/or provide other wallet functionalityknown in the art. However, the functionality described with respect tothe embodiments disclosed herein is not limited to the aforementionedwallet functionality provided by the payment services provider, andinstead may be implemented in other applications and uses such as, forexample, an operating system, an operating system extension, a webbrowser, mapping applications, and/or other applications executed by amobile device having a touch-sensitive display device.

Referring first to FIG. 2a , a payer device 200 or mobile deviceincludes a display 202 displaying a home screen 204 of a mobile deviceoperating system, such as an iOS or Android mobile device operatingsystem. In one embodiment, the functionality described with respect tothe embodiments disclosed herein is executed by a payment applicationrunning in the background of a mobile device operating system. Thepayment application may be provided by a payment services provider, suchas PayPal Inc. of San Jose, Calif., and the payer associated with thepayer device may have a payment account with the payment servicesprovider that allows the payer to access one or more financial accountsor payment sources for making payments to merchants or other users(e.g., credit card financial accounts, banking financial accounts,virtual currency financial accounts, etc.). The display 202 is atouch-sensitive or gesture-detecting display device, and may includemulti-touch display device functionality that is capable of detectingmultiple inputs at once from a user. Wallet functionality of the paymentapplication may provide various functions, for example, the walletfunctionality may provide storage for financial accounts or paymentsources associated with the user's account information, such as anaccount with the payment services provider, one or more credit cardaccounts, one or more virtual currency financial accounts, and one ormore bank accounts. The wallet functionality may also includefunctionality to allow the user to add a new account, funding source, orpayment source, such as a credit card, debit card, store loyalty card,gift card, bank account, virtual currency account, or other financialaccount to the user's account with the payment services provider. Suchwallet functionality may also be integrated into the mobile deviceoperating system itself. Display 202 displaying the home screen 204 ofthe mobile device operating system may also include one or moregraphical user interface icons 206 a-206 f. Such graphical userinterface icons 206 a-206 f may be selected by a user to launch anassociated application, such as an e-mail application, phoneapplication, web browser application, messaging application, socialnetworking application, mapping application, or other such applications.As shown in FIG. 2a , the graphical user interface icons 206 a-206 f maybe displayed at various locations on the home screen 204 of display 202.

The method 100 begins at block 102 where a location of a mobile deviceis detected. In one embodiment, the location of the mobile device may bedetected by one or more location sensors, such as global positioningsatellite (GPS) receivers included in a mobile device. In oneembodiment, additional location detection sensors are used to detect thelocation of the mobile device. For example, the mobile device mayutilize Wi-Fi triangulation to estimate the location of the mobiledevice, or may use information from cellular towers to estimate thelocation of the mobile device. In one embodiment, information frommultiple location sensors may be used to increase the accuracy indetermining the location of the mobile device. In one embodiment,location beacons, such as Bluetooth location beacons, may be used toincrease the accuracy in determining the location of the mobile device.In one embodiment, the detection of the location may also includedetection of an application executing on the mobile device, such as ashopping application.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 104 where the detected location ofthe mobile device is transmitted to a payment services provider. In oneembodiment, the location is transmitted over a mobile network to amobile services provider, and then to the payment services provider, viathe Internet.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 106, where information from thepayment services provider is received. In one embodiment, theinformation received from the payment services provider includesinformation indicating that the detected location corresponds to amerchant corresponding to or in the proximity of the detected locationof the mobile device. Further, the information received from the paymentservices provider may include information indicating that the merchantat the detected location has contactless payment options available toconsumers. The term “contactless payment option” as used hereinindicates a payment option that does not require a physical swipe orexchange of a payment mechanism, e.g., a contactless payment option isone in which a credit card does not need to be swiped at a paymentterminal. In one embodiment, the determination that at method 106includes a determination that the merchant may accept payments for atransaction using a barcode-based payment system. For example, somecontactless payment systems generate a single-use barcode to bedisplayed on a mobile device of a user. The barcode is scanned by thepoint-of-sale barcode scanner to transmit payment details for thetransaction. In one embodiment, another contactless payment option mayinclude the ability for a merchant to accept near field communicationsbased payments. For example, certain mobile telephones are sold withnear field communications transceivers which securely transmit paymentdetails for a transaction from the mobile device to a near fieldcommunications equipped point-of-sale terminal (e.g., a credit cardterminal with a near field communications reader or transceiver). Thus,the determination at block 106 may include a determination that themerchant has a near field communications equipped point-of-saleterminal. In one embodiment, another contactless payment option mayinclude the ability for a merchant to accept credit card payments usinga magnetic stripe emulation technology. For example, certainpoint-of-sale credit card readers can receive a signal generated by amagnetic stripe emulator in a mobile device which transmits paymentdetails to the credit card reader. The credit card reader treats themagnetic stripe emulation as a “swipe” of the credit card.

In one embodiment, the merchant is identified by the payment servicesprovider. In one embodiment, the merchant is identified by the mobiledevice of the user. In a further embodiment, the identification may bebased on a combination of the merchant and the mobile device. Forexample, the payment services provider may identify a merchantcorresponding to the detected location of the mobile device. The usermay then be presented with a confirmation screen on a touch-sensitivedisplay device to confirm whether the payment services provider'sidentification of the merchant corresponding to the detected location ofthe mobile device is correct. In one embodiment, the user may bepresented with a list of potential merchants corresponding to thedetected location of the mobile device, and may be asked to select acorrect merchant using a display on a touch-sensitive display device ofthe mobile device. In one embodiment, the user may be asked to type inor search for the merchant corresponding to the detected location of themobile device.

Referring now to FIG. 2b , the application may detect the location ofthe mobile device, and receive an identification of a merchantcorresponding to the location from the payment services provider, ordetermine the merchant corresponding to the location within theapplication itself. Accordingly, the user may be presented withinformation such as that depicted in the display illustrated in FIG. 2b. The display of FIG. 2b includes a window 208, such as a pop-up window,informing the user that it appears the user is shopping at a detectedlocation of Sam's Shoes, and providing buttons 210 a and 210 b, whichmay be selected by the user to either confirm the identified merchant(button 210 b) or reject the identified merchant (button 210 a). Theuser may interact with the touch-sensitive display device 202 to selecteither button 210 a or 210 b.

Referring now to FIG. 2c , in one embodiment described above, theapplication may detect the location of the mobile device, and receive anidentification of multiple possible merchants corresponding to thelocation from the payment services provider or based on its owndetermination. For example, in a shopping mall, multiple merchants maybe in close proximity, and detected location information may matchmultiple merchants. Accordingly, the user may be presented with thedisplay illustrated in FIG. 2c . The display of FIG. 2c includes awindow 212 presenting the user with three options with correspondingbuttons 214 a-214 c, requesting that the user confirm he or she isshopping at one of the three options. Further, the window 212 presentsthe user with a fourth option with a corresponding button 214 d forselection by the user if none of the displayed options correspond to themerchant where the user is shopping. The user may interact with thetouch-sensitive display device 202 to select any of buttons 214 a-214 d,depending on the merchant where the user is shopping.

In one embodiment, if the identification of the merchant includesreceiving input from the user confirming a merchant identification, theidentification of the merchant may be transmitted to the payment serviceprovider to determine whether the identified merchant has contactlesspayment options available to consumers.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 108, where the mobile devicedisplays on a touch-sensitive display device one or more graphicaldepictions of payment options associated with a stored plurality ofpayment sources. In one embodiment, the display is caused by anapplication executing on the mobile device. In one embodiment, thedisplay is caused by the mobile device operating system executing on themobile device. Further, the display may be caused by a combination ofthe application and the mobile device operating system (e.g., theapplication may be running in the background or as an extension to themobile device operating system). In one embodiment, a non-transitorymemory of the mobile device may store a plurality of payment sources(e.g., credit cards, virtual currency sources, etc.) associated with auser of the mobile device. In one embodiment, each payment source may beassociated with a personal account number. Thus, for example, instead ofa mobile device storing a user's actual credit card number, the paymentservice provider may communicate with a credit card issuer or otherservice to generate or receive a unique token or personal account numberto be stored in the user's mobile device. In this way, if the user'smobile device is lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised, the user'scredit card number is not vulnerable; only the associated personalaccount number may be stored on the mobile device. The personal accountnumber can be cancelled at any time and a new personal account numbercan be generated to ensure security.

Referring now to FIG. 2d , the application executing on the mobiledevice 200, or the operating system executing on the mobile device 200,may provide the display of the one or more graphical depictions (e.g.,icons) of payment options associated with the stored plurality ofpayment sources. For example, the display of FIG. 2d depicts four icons216 a-216 d representing stored payment sources associated with theuser. In one embodiment, each icon includes graphical and textinformation corresponding to the payment option (e.g., a logo for thecredit card issuer or payment services provider, the last four digits ofthe credit card corresponding to the payment option, etc.) Each icon 216a-216 d may be selected by the user to transmit payment details for atransaction with the merchant. The user may interact with thetouch-sensitive display device 206 to select an icon 216 a-216. Notethat icons may be displayed on different screens of display device 206,e.g., on a lock screen, on a home screen, or any other screen currentlyin use by the user when the mobile device is detected the occurrence ofa possible payment transaction or event.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 110, where a selection of one ofthe displayed graphical depictions of payment options is received usingthe touch-sensitive display. For example, as described above, the usermay interact with touch-sensitive display device 206 to select icon 216b to pay for the transaction with the merchant.

The method 100 then proceeds to block 112, where the payment details aretransmitted. In one embodiment, if the merchant accepts near fieldcommunications payments and the selected payment option is a near fieldcommunications payment method, one or more near field communicationstransceivers in the mobile device may be activated by the hardwareprocessors of the mobile device. The activation may cause the one ormore near field communications transceivers to transmit a personalaccount number associated with the selected graphical depiction. In oneembodiment, if the merchant accepts payments by scanning a barcode, thehardware processors in the mobile device may generate a barcodecorresponding to the selected payment option for display on thetouch-sensitive display device, and the user may allow the barcode to bescanned to transmit payment details. In one embodiment, if the merchantaccepts credit cards, the selection of the graphical depiction of thepayment option may cause the processors of the mobile device to activatea magnetic stripe emulator device in the mobile device, at which pointthe user can transmit credit card details to the merchant by placing themobile device near the credit card terminal.

In one embodiment, prior to transmitting payment details, theapplication executing on the mobile device or the operating system ofthe mobile device may require that the payment be authenticated. In oneembodiment, such authentication may be provided by a passcode orpassword entered by the user. In one embodiment, such authentication maybe provided biometrically. Thus, for example, if a mobile deviceincludes a biometric authentication sensor (e.g., fingerprint reader),the user may place a finger on the biometric authentication sensor tocause the mobile device to receive a biometric authentication request.Responsive to a positive biometric authentication by the mobile device,the mobile device may cause the contactless payment details to betransmitted (e.g., by activating a near field communicationstransceiver, generating a barcode, or emulating a magnetic stripeswipe). In one embodiment, an authentication process may occur before auser unlocks a mobile device, for example, when a lock screen isdisplayed on the mobile device. In one embodiment, an authenticationprocess may occur after the user has unlocked the mobile device, and isperformed before the user authenticates through, for example, a paymentservice provider. In one embodiment, the authentication process may bean additional level of security after the user authenticates through apayment services provider. Other user-specific authentication methodsare contemplated as well, for example, voice recognition or facialrecognition may be used to authenticate with the mobile device orpayment services provider.

In one embodiment, characteristics of the merchant and promotions may bereceived from the payment services provider. The promotions may beoffered by the merchant or may be offered by an entity associated with astored payment source. In response, the mobile device may determinebased on such information a suggested payment source for a transactionbetween the merchant and the user of the mobile device. Thus, anemphasized graphical depiction of a payment option associated with thesuggested payment source may be displayed on the graphical userinterface of the mobile device. For example, the suggested paymentsource may be displayed with an outline (as with payment option 216 b ofFIG. 2d ), or placed first in an order of payment sources, etc.

Thus, for example, in one embodiment, information received from thepayment services provider for a merchant may also include a merchantcategorization. For example, certain credit cards offer differentrewards or incentives based on the category of the merchant. As oneexample, a credit card may offer 5% cash back for use at a gas station,3% cash back for use at grocery stores, and 1% cash back for use at allother merchants. In one embodiment, the promotions may be offered by anentity associated with a payment source stored in the application oroperating system on the mobile device of the user. For example,promotions offered by an entity associated with a payment source mayinclude reward points offered by a credit card issuing bank. As oneexample, a credit card issuing bank may offer consumers having aparticular credit card a fixed number of airline miles per dollar spentusing that credit card. In one embodiment, the promotions may be offeredby the merchant corresponding to the detected location of the mobiledevice. For example, the merchant may offer a discount for using aparticular payment method. As one example, the merchant may offer a 2%discount if a consumer pays using a debit card instead of a credit card,as the merchant may not need to pay the credit card processor fees forthe transaction, and may pass that savings along to the consumer. In oneembodiment, such promotions are not known by consumers (i.e., the offersare non-public), but are known only to the payment services provider orthe credit card issuing banks or other institutions, and the consumer isonly informed of such promotions at or near the time of payment. Otherpromotions or promotional offers may be provided to the user as well.

In one embodiment, promotions may be received from the payment servicesprovider, which may in turn receive the promotions from the entity(e.g., credit card issuing bank) associated with a payment source. Forexample, in one embodiment, the payment services provider may transmitto the issuing bank an indication of a likely transaction between a userand a particular merchant, and may transmit to the issuing bank certaindetails of the transaction, such as the amount of the transaction, themerchant corresponding to the transaction, or the items to be purchasedin the transaction. The issuing bank may choose to offer that user aspecial promotion to entice the user to use its credit card over otherpayment sources. For example, the issuing bank may offer that user apromotion that is not currently active for other customers, but whichmay help the issuing bank's likelihood that its credit card is used forthe transaction. In one embodiment, the details transmitted from thepayment services provider include no identifying information of theuser. In one embodiment, the details transmitted from the paymentservices provider include identifying information of the user, so thatthe entity or issuing bank can target promotions to individualcustomers. In certain embodiments, the consumer must opt-in to suchtargeting.

In one embodiment, the payment services provider may receive promotions,including non-public promotions, from an entity associated with apayment source, such as a credit card issuing bank, on a periodic basis.In one embodiment, the payment services provider and entity associatedwith the payment source may collaborate on a standardized data protocolto exchange promotion information, using, for example, extensible markuplanguage (XML) or another data format. The information received mayinstruct the payment services provider to offer a particular promotionto a certain percentage of users, and may allow the payment servicesprovider to determine which users are offered the promotion. In oneembodiment, as described above, such promotions are non-publicpromotions not known to users or consumers, but maintained by thepayment services provider or entity associated with the payment source,and are only offered for limited time periods to users matching thedesired criteria at the time of payment, or as an incentive to pay witha certain payment source.

Thus, a suggested contactless payment source for the transaction betweenthe merchant and the user of the mobile device may be determined. In oneembodiment, the suggested payment source is determined by theapplication executing on the mobile device or by the operating system ofthe mobile device. In one embodiment, the suggested payment source maybe determined by the payment services provider. In one embodiment, thesuggested payment source is determined based on one or more storedpayment sources, the characteristics of the merchant, and the one ormore promotions, including one or more promotions provided by an entityassociated with a payment source which is not publicly available (i.e.,non-public promotions). As one example, the merchant may be a grocerystore, and the payment source determined may be a grocery store creditcard which offers 2% back on grocery purchases, with an extra 1% cashback to a particular class of users or individual users sharing acharacteristic desired by an entity associated with the payment source.In one embodiment, additional information is used to determine thesuggested payment source for the transaction. For example, details ofthe transaction, such as an amount of the transaction, the itemspurchased in the transaction, and other information, may be used todetermine the suggested payment source. In one embodiment, a paymentservices provider device or the mobile device of the user may store datato be used in the determination of suggested payment sources forpresentation to users of the payment application.

In one embodiment, the location detection sensors of the mobile devicemay detect a second location of the mobile device. The second locationmay represent a change in location from the first location. The secondlocation may be transmitted to the payment services provider. Inresponse, information may be received from the payment services providerindicating that the second detected location does not correspond to amerchant having contactless payment options available to consumers.Thus, the one or more graphical depictions of payment options associatedwith the plurality of payment sources may be removed from display. Thus,for example, the display of FIG. 2d may return to the display of FIG. 2a. In one embodiment, the one or more graphical depictions of paymentoptions associated with the plurality of payment sources may also beremoved from display responsive to a receipt of an indication of asuccessful transaction. The indication of the successful transaction maybe received by, for example, the NFC transceiver.

In one embodiment, only graphical depictions of payment options whichare accepted by the identified merchant are displayed. Thus, forexample, if the user has NFC-based payment options, magnetic stripeemulation payment options, and barcode payment options, but theparticular merchant only accepts barcode payments, only those paymentoptions may be displayed with graphical depictions on thetouch-sensitive display of the mobile device. In one embodiment, thegraphical depictions of the payment options may be displayed in an orderbased on preferences of the user of the mobile device.

Thus, systems and methods have been described that provide for thepresentation of contactless payment sources using a graphical userinterface. The systems and methods may detect a location of a mobiledevice, and present graphical depictions of payment options associatedwith a stored plurality of payment sources. One or more of the presentedgraphical depictions may be a particular payment source recommended fora particular transaction. In response to a selection of a graphicaldepiction, such as an icon, a transceiver may transmit payment detailsto a point-of-sale terminal. As such, the presentation recommendation ofpayment sources and display of graphical depictions assists the user inthe selection of contactless payment options and may assist the user inselecting optimal payment sources for a transaction.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a network-based system 300 forimplementing one or more processes described herein is illustrated. Asshown, network-based system 300 may comprise or implement a plurality ofservers and/or software components that operate to perform variousmethodologies in accordance with the described embodiments. Exemplaryservers may include, for example, stand-alone and enterprise-classservers operating a server OS such as a MICROSOFT® OS, a UNIX® OS, aLINUX® OS, or other suitable server-based OS. It can be appreciated thatthe servers illustrated in FIG. 3 may be deployed in other ways and thatthe operations performed and/or the services provided by such serversmay be combined or separated for a given implementation and may beperformed by a greater number or fewer number of servers. One or moreservers may be operated and/or maintained by the same or differententities.

The embodiment of the networked system 300 illustrated in FIG. 3includes a plurality of payer devices 302, a plurality of merchantdevices 304, a payment services provider device 306, an account providerdevice 307, and/or a system provider device 308, in communication over anetwork 310. Any of the payer devices 302 may be the payer device 200operated by the users, discussed above. The merchant devices 304 may bethe merchant devices discussed above and may be operated by themerchants discussed above. The payment services provider device 306 maybe the payment services provider devices discussed above and may beoperated by a payment services provider such as, for example, PayPalInc. of San Jose, Calif. The account provider devices 307 may be theaccount provider devices discussed above and may be operated by theaccount providers discussed above such as, for example, credit cardaccount providers, bank account providers, savings account providers,and a variety of other account providers known in the art. The systemprovider device 308 may be one of the system provider devices discussedabove and may be operated by one or more of the system providersdiscussed above.

The payer devices 302, merchant devices 304, payment services providerdevice 306, account provider device 308, and/or system provider device308 may each include one or more processors, memories, and otherappropriate components for executing instructions such as program codeand/or data stored on one or more computer readable mediums to implementthe various applications, data, and steps described herein. For example,such instructions may be stored in one or more computer readable mediumssuch as memories or data storage devices internal and/or external tovarious components of the system 300, and/or accessible over the network310.

The network 310 may be implemented as a single network or a combinationof multiple networks. For example, in various embodiments, the network310 may include the Internet and/or one or more intranets, landlinenetworks, wireless networks, and/or other appropriate types of networks.

The payer device 302 may be implemented using any appropriatecombination of hardware and/or software configured for wired and/orwireless communication over network 310. For example, in one embodiment,the payer device 302 may be implemented as a personal computer of a userin communication with the Internet. In other embodiments, the payerdevice 302 may be a smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA),laptop computer, and/or other types of computing devices.

The payer device 302 may include one or more browser applications whichmay be used, for example, to provide a convenient interface to permitthe payer to browse information available over the network 310. Forexample, in one embodiment, the browser application may be implementedas a web browser configured to view information available over theInternet.

The payer device 302 may also include one or more toolbar applicationswhich may be used, for example, to provide user-side processing forperforming desired tasks in response to operations selected by thepayer. In one embodiment, the toolbar application may display a userinterface in connection with the browser application.

The payer device 302 may further include other applications as may bedesired in particular embodiments to provide desired features to thepayer device 302. In particular, the other applications may include apayment application for payments assisted by a payment services providerthrough the payment services provider device 306. The other applicationsmay also include security applications for implementing user-sidesecurity features, programmatic user applications for interfacing withappropriate application programming interfaces (APIs) over the network310, or other types of applications. Email and/or text applications mayalso be included, which allow the payer to send and receive emailsand/or text messages through the network 310. The payer device 302includes one or more user and/or device identifiers which may beimplemented, for example, as operating system registry entries, cookiesassociated with the browser application, identifiers associated withhardware of the payer device 302, or other appropriate identifiers, suchas a phone number. In one embodiment, the user identifier may be used bythe payment services provider device 306 and/or account provider device307 to associate the user with a particular account as further describedherein.

The merchant device 304 may be maintained, for example, by aconventional or on-line merchant, conventional or digital goods seller,individual seller, and/or application developer offering variousproducts and/or services in exchange for payment to be receivedconventionally or over the network 310. In this regard, the merchantdevice 304 may include a database identifying available products and/orservices (e.g., collectively referred to as items) which may be madeavailable for viewing and purchase by the payer.

The merchant device 304 also includes a checkout application which maybe configured to facilitate the purchase by the payer of items. Thecheckout application may be configured to accept payment informationfrom the user through the payer device 302, the account provider throughthe account provider device 307, and/or from the payment servicesprovider through the payment services provider device 306 over thenetwork 310.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a payer device 400 isillustrated. The payer device 400 may be the payer devices 200 and/or302. The payer device 400 includes a chassis 402 having a display 404and an input device including the display 404 and a plurality of inputbuttons 406. The payer device 400 further includes a camera 408 and oneor more audio input/output devices (e.g., microphones, speakers) 410.One of skill in the art will recognize that the payer device 400 is aportable or mobile phone including a touch screen input device and aplurality of input buttons that allow the functionality discussed abovewith reference to the method 100. However, a variety of otherportable/mobile payer devices and/or desktop payer devices may be usedin the method 100 without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a further embodiment of a payer device 500 isillustrated. The payer device 400 may be the payer devices 200 and/or302. The payer device 500 includes a chassis 502 having a display 504and an input device including the display 504. The payer device 500 mayalso include an input button 406 and one or more audio input/outputdevice 508 (e.g. microphones, speakers). One of skill in the art willrecognize that the payer device 500 is a portable or mobile table deviceincluding a touch screen input device and a plurality of input buttonsthat allow the functionality discussed above with reference to themethod 100. However, a variety of other portable/mobile payer devicesand/or desktop payer devices may be used in the method 100 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an embodiment of a computer system 600 suitablefor implementing, for example, the payer device 200, the payer device302, the payer device 400, the payer device 500, the merchant devices304, the payment services provider device 306, the account providerdevice 307, and/or the system provider device 308, is illustrated. Itshould be appreciated that other devices utilized by payers, merchants,payment services providers, account providers, and system providers inthe system discussed above may be implemented as the computer system 600in a manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 600, such as a computer and/or a network server,includes a bus 602 or other communication mechanism for communicatinginformation, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as aprocessing component 604 (e.g., processor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor (DSP), etc.), a system memory component 606 (e.g.,RAM), a static storage component 608 (e.g., ROM), a disk drive component610 (e.g., magnetic or optical), a network interface component 612(e.g., modem or Ethernet card), a display component 614 (e.g., CRT, LCD,touch-sensitive display device, etc.), an input component 618 (e.g.,keyboard, keypad, virtual keyboard, touch-sensitive display device), acursor control component 620 (e.g., mouse, pointer, or trackball), alocation determination component 622 (e.g., a Global Positioning System(GPS) device as illustrated, a cell tower triangulation device, a Wi-Fitriangulation device, a Bluetooth-based location device, and/or avariety of other location determination devices known in the art),and/or a camera device 623. The computer system 600 may also include anear-field communication (NFC) component 624, or other radio frequencyidentification component, installed therein allowing the device to beoperated pursuant to ISO/IEC 18092, NFC IP-1 or the ISO/IEC 14443contactless communication standards, or other applicable contactlesscommunication standards and wireless technologies including but notlimited to those for Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and NFC.The computer system 600 may also include a magnetic stripe emulationdevice. In one implementation, the disk drive component 610 may comprisea database having one or more disk drive components. In one embodiment,voice recognition software and/or hardware may be used as an inputcomponent 618 and a cursor control component 620, and may also be usedfor output purposes (e.g., in addition to display component 614). Forexample, voice recognition software and/or hardware may cause a mobiledevice to transmit a personal account number, or may be used to selectdisplayed graphical depictions of payment sources.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the computersystem 600 performs specific operations by the processor 604 executingone or more sequences of instructions contained in the memory component606, such as described herein with respect to the payer devices 200,302, 400 and 500, the merchant device(s) 304, the payment servicesprovider device 306, the account provider device(s) 307, and/or thesystem provider device 308. Such instructions may be read into thesystem memory component 606 from another computer readable medium, suchas the static storage component 608 or the disk drive component 610. Inother embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement the presentdisclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor604 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.In one embodiment, the computer readable medium is non-transitory. Invarious implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magneticdisks, such as the disk drive component 610, volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as the system memory component 606, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise the bus 602. In one example,transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read. In oneembodiment, the computer readable media is non-transitory.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by the computer system 600. In various other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems 600 coupledby a communication link 626 to the network 310 (e.g., such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

The computer system 600 may transmit and receive messages, data,information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e.,application code) through the communication link 626 and the networkinterface component 612. The network interface component 612 may includean antenna, either separate or integrated, to enable transmission andreception via the communication link 626. Received program code may beexecuted by processor 604 as received and/or stored in disk drivecomponent 610 or some other non-volatile storage component forexecution.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an embodiment of a payment provider device 700is illustrated. In an embodiment, the device 700 may be the systemprovider device 308 discussed above. The device 700 includes acommunication engine 702 that is coupled to the network 310 and to acontactless payment determination engine 704 that is coupled to adatabase 706. The communication engine 702 may be software orinstructions stored on a computer-readable medium that allows the device700 to send and receive information over the network 310. Thecontactless payment determination engine 704 may be software orinstructions stored on a computer-readable medium that is operable todetect or receive a location of a mobile device using a locationdetection sensor, transmit or receive a detected location, identify amerchant corresponding to the detected location, determine whether theidentified merchant has contactless payment options, and cause thedisplay of graphical depictions of stored contactless payment options ona touch-sensitive display device of a mobile device. While the database706 has been illustrated as located in the payment provider device 700,one of skill in the art will recognize that it may be connected to thecontactless payment determination engine 704 through the network 310without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. For example, the aboveembodiments have focused on merchants and payers; however, a payer orconsumer can pay, or otherwise interact with any type of recipient,including charities and individuals. The payment does not have toinvolve a purchase, but may be a loan, a charitable contribution, agift, etc. Thus, payee as used herein can also include charities,individuals, and any other entity or person receiving a payment from apayer. Having thus described embodiments of the present disclosure,persons of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that changes may bemade in form and detail without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device system, comprising: anon-transitory memory storing a plurality of instructions; one or morelocation detection sensors; one or more near field communicationstransceivers; a touch-sensitive display; and one or more hardwareprocessors coupled to the non-transitory memory, the one or morelocation detection sensors, the one or more near field communicationstransceivers/controllers, and the touch-sensitive display, wherein theone or more hardware processors are configured to read instructions fromthe non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operationscomprising: detecting, using the one or more location detection sensors,a location of the mobile device; transmitting, to a payment servicesprovider, the detected location of the mobile device; receivinginformation from the payment services provider indicating that thedetected location of the mobile device corresponds to a merchant havingcontactless payment options available to consumers; displaying, on thetouch-sensitive display, one or more graphical depictions of paymentoptions associated with a stored plurality of payment sources associatedwith a user of the mobile device system; receiving, using thetouch-sensitive display, a selection of one of the displayed graphicaldepictions of payment options; and activating, by the one or morehardware processors, the one or more near field communicationstransceivers, wherein the activating causes the one or more near fieldcommunications transceivers to transmit a personal account numberassociated with the selected graphical depiction.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, from the paymentservices provider, one or more characteristics of the merchantcorresponding to the detected location of the mobile device, and one ormore promotions offered by an entity associated with one or more of astored payment source and the merchant; determining, based on the one ormore payment sources, the one or more characteristics, and the one ormore promotions, a suggested payment source for a transaction betweenthe merchant and the user of the mobile device; and displaying, on thetouch-sensitive display, an emphasized graphical depiction of thepayment option associated with the suggested payment source forselection by the user of the mobile device.
 3. The system of claim 1,further comprising a biometric authentication sensor, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving, using the biometricauthentication sensor, a biometric authentication request; andresponsive to a positive biometric authentication, activating the one ormore near field communications transceivers to transmit the personalaccount number associated with the selected graphical depiction.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the location is a first location, and whereinthe operations further comprise: detecting, using the one or morelocation detection sensors, a second location of the mobile device,wherein the second location represents a change from the first location;transmitting, to a payment services provider, the second detectedlocation of the mobile device; receiving information from the paymentservices provider indicating that the second detected location of themobile device does not correspond to a merchant having contactlesspayment options available to consumers; and removing from display theone or more graphical depictions of payment options associated with thestored plurality of payment sources.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereindisplaying one or more graphical depictions of payment optionsassociated with the stored plurality of payment sources furthercomprises: displaying, on the touch sensitive display, one or moregraphical depictions of payment options associated with the storedplurality of payment sources based on an identification of paymentsources accepted by the merchant.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereindisplaying one or more graphical depictions of payment optionsassociated with the stored plurality of payment sources furthercomprises: displaying, on the touch sensitive display, one or moregraphical depictions of payment options associated with the storedplurality of payment sources in an order based on one or morepreferences of the user of the mobile device system.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: responsive to anindication of a successful transaction received by the near fieldcommunications transceiver, removing the graphical depictions of paymentoptions from the touch sensitive display.
 8. A computer-implementedmethod for displaying contactless payment options to a user of a mobiledevice, comprising: detecting, using one or more location detectionsensors of the mobile device, a location of the mobile device;transmitting, to a payment services provider, the detected location ofthe mobile device; receiving information from the payment servicesprovider indicating that the detected location of the mobile devicecorresponds to a merchant having contactless payment options availableto consumers; displaying, on a touch-sensitive display of the mobiledevice, one or more graphical depictions of payment options associatedwith a stored plurality of payment sources; receiving, using thetouch-sensitive display, a selection of one of the displayed graphicaldepictions of payment options; and activating, by the one or morehardware processors, one or more near field communications transceiversof the mobile device, wherein the activating causes the one or more nearfield communications transceivers to transmit a personal account numberassociated with the selected graphical depiction.
 9. The method of claim8, further comprising: receiving, from the payment services provider,one or more characteristics of the merchant corresponding to thedetected location of the mobile device, and one or more promotionsoffered by an entity associated with one or more of a stored paymentsource and the merchant; determining, based on the one or more paymentsources, the one or more characteristics, and the one or morepromotions, a suggested payment source for a transaction between themerchant and the user of the mobile device; and displaying, on thetouch-sensitive display, an emphasized graphical depiction of thepayment option associated with the suggested payment source forselection by the user of the mobile device.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising: receiving, using a biometric authentication sensorof the mobile device, a biometric authentication request; and responsiveto a positive biometric authentication, activating the one or more nearfield communications transceivers to transmit the personal accountnumber associated with the selected graphical depiction.
 11. The methodof claim 8, wherein the location is a first location, and wherein themethod further comprises: detecting, using the one or more locationdetection sensors, a second location of the mobile device, wherein thesecond location represents a change from the first location;transmitting, to a payment services provider, the second detectedlocation of the mobile device; receiving information from the paymentservices provider indicating that the second detected location of themobile device does not correspond to a merchant having contactlesspayment options available to consumers; and removing from display theone or more graphical depictions of payment options associated with thestored plurality of payment sources.
 12. The method of claim 8, whereindisplaying one or more graphical depictions of payment optionsassociated with the stored plurality of payment sources furthercomprises: displaying, on the touch sensitive display, one or moregraphical depictions of payment options associated with the storedplurality of payment sources based on an identification of paymentsources accepted by the merchant.
 13. The method of claim 8, whereindisplaying one or more graphical depictions of payment optionsassociated with the stored plurality of payment sources furthercomprises: displaying, on the touch sensitive display, one or moregraphical depictions of payment options associated with the storedplurality of payment sources in an order based on one or morepreferences of the user of the mobile device system.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, further comprising: responsive to an indication of a successfultransaction received by the near field communications transceiver,removing the graphical depictions of payment options from the touchsensitive display.
 15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium havingstored thereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause amachine to perform operations comprising: detecting, using one or morelocation detection sensors of a mobile device, a location of the mobiledevice; transmitting, to a payment services provider, the detectedlocation of the mobile device; receiving information from the paymentservices provider indicating that the detected location of the mobiledevice corresponds to a merchant having contactless payment optionsavailable to consumers; displaying, on a touch-sensitive display of themobile device, one or more graphical depictions of payment optionsassociated with a stored plurality of payment sources; receiving, usingthe touch-sensitive display, a selection of one of the displayedgraphical depictions of payment options; and activating, by one or morehardware processors of the mobile device, one or more near fieldcommunications transceivers of the mobile device, wherein the activatingcauses the one or more near field communications transceivers totransmit a personal account number associated with the selectedgraphical depiction.
 16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, from thepayment services provider, one or more characteristics of the merchantcorresponding to the detected location of the mobile device, and one ormore promotions offered by an entity associated with one or more of astored payment source and the merchant; determining, based on the one ormore payment sources, the one or more characteristics, and the one ormore promotions, a suggested payment source for a transaction betweenthe merchant and the user of the mobile device; and displaying, on thetouch-sensitive display, an emphasized graphical depiction of thepayment option associated with the suggested payment source forselection by the user of the mobile device.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving, using a biometric authentication sensor of themobile device, a biometric authentication request; and responsive to apositive biometric authentication, activating the one or more near fieldcommunications transceivers to transmit the personal account numberassociated with the selected graphical depiction.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the location is a firstlocation, and wherein the operations further comprise: detecting, usingthe one or more location detection sensors, a second location of themobile device, wherein the second location represents a change from thefirst location; transmitting, to a payment services provider, the seconddetected location of the mobile device; receiving information from thepayment services provider indicating that the second detected locationof the mobile device does not correspond to a merchant havingcontactless payment options available to consumers; and removing fromdisplay the one or more graphical depictions of payment optionsassociated with the stored plurality of payment sources.
 19. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein displayingone or more graphical depictions of payment options associated with thestored plurality of payment sources further comprises: displaying, onthe touch sensitive display, one or more graphical depictions of paymentoptions associated with the stored plurality of payment sources based onan identification of payment sources accepted by the merchant.
 20. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein displayingone or more graphical depictions of payment options associated with thestored plurality of payment sources further comprises: displaying, onthe touch sensitive display, one or more graphical depictions of paymentoptions associated with the stored plurality of payment sources in anorder based on one or more preferences of the user of the mobile devicesystem.